TriQuint Builds Momentum with Industry’s Smallest Transmit Modules, Delivering Design Flexibility for 2G / 3G / 4G Mobile Devices

HILLSBORO, Ore.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TQNT), a leading RF solutions supplier and technology innovator, is building market momentum with two QUANTUM Tx™ modules that are 40% smaller than the previous generation. These transmit modules integrate TriQuint’s new ultra-small GSM core, and enable more flexibility for smartphones, feature phones and low-cost voice-only phones.

“Virtually all 3G and 4G capable phones incorporate 2G access technology, and 2G remains the dominant wireless communication technology in many areas of the world.”

“Design innovations have enabled cost and size breakthroughs without compromising performance,” said Shane Smith, Vice President of Global Marketing for Mobile Devices. “Our 2G QUANTUM Tx™ module has already made significant inroads in the GSM market. Our new 3G/4G QUANTUM Tx module pairs with our new TRITIUM Duo™ family of dual-band PA-duplexer modules to create the industry’s smallest, high-performance RF solution for global 3G/4G wireless devices.”

Some of the world’s leading mobile handset manufacturers have selected TriQuint’s new QUANTUM Tx modules, including Samsung, Huawei and ZTE. TriQuint has seen success with previous generations of its QUANTUM Tx modules; to date, more than 150 million units have shipped. “We expect to ship more than 100 million QUANTUM Tx modules in the next 18 months alone, making it one of the highest volume product lines in our factory,” Smith said. TriQuint increased manufacturing capacity by 40 percent in 2011 to support customer demand for its growing mobile device portfolio.

Shipping in volume since mid-2011, TriQuint’s 2G (GSM) QUANTUM Tx module, TQM6M4068, offers phone designers full GaAs HBT performance and a small size to enable flexible designs. At 5×6mm, the TQM6M4068 is the industry’s smallest Tx module and won “Best Product” in the 2011 EDN China Innovation Award program for the communications and networks front-end category. Approved for MediaTek’s chipset reference design, the new product has been chosen for many new 2G phone platforms. “Close to 1.5 billion GSM based phones will be produced this year,” said Neil Shah, an analyst with research firm Strategy Analytics. “Virtually all 3G and 4G capable phones incorporate 2G access technology, and 2G remains the dominant wireless communication technology in many areas of the world.”

Shipping in volume since January 2012, TriQuint’s TQM6M9069 QUANTUM Tx module features the same small 5×6 mm footprint, making it the smallest 3G/4G transmit module in the market. This new part simplifies mobile device design and showcases TriQuint’s strength in integration, since it includes a GSM/GPRS power amplifier and WCDMA antenna switch. TriQuint plans to expand the QUANTUM Tx module family in the months ahead with product solutions that incorporate additional switch ports to support more frequency bands.

Technical Details

The QUANTUM Tx transmit modules implement proprietary TriQuint CuFlip™ technology to replace wire bonds with copper bumps; this saves board real estate and enables superior system performance by eliminating noise-radiating wires. The copper bumps also dissipate heat better than traditional interconnect techniques. The QUANTUM Tx modules offer improved system efficiency and full RF transmit functionality in a compact size of only 30 mm².

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TQNT) press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. The cautionary statements made in this press release should be read as being applicable to all related statements wherever they appear. Statements containing such words as ‘leading’, ‘smallest’, ‘high efficiency’, ‘without compromising performance’, or similar terms are considered to contain uncertainty and are forward-looking statements. A number of factors affect TriQuint’s operating results and could cause its actual future results to differ materially from any results indicated in this press release or in any other forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, TriQuint including, but not limited to: those associated with the unpredictability and volatility of customer acceptance of and demand for our products and technologies, the ability of our production facilities and those of our vendors to meet demand, the ability of our production facilities and those of our vendors to produce products with yields sufficient to maintain profitability, as well as the other “Risk Factors” set forth in TriQuint’s most recent 10-Q report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This and other reports can be found on the SEC web site, www.sec.gov. A reader of this release should understand that these and other risks could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations expressed / implied in forward-looking statements.

FACTS ABOUT TRIQUINT

Founded in 1985, TriQuint Semiconductor (NASDAQ: TQNT) is a leading global provider of innovative RF solutions and foundry services for the world’s top communications, defense and aerospace companies. People and organizations around the world need real-time, all-the-time connections; TriQuint products help reduce the cost and increase the performance of connected mobile devices and the networks that deliver critical voice, data and video communications. With the industry’s broadest technology portfolio, recognized R&D leadership, and expertise in high-volume manufacturing, TriQuint creates standard and custom products using gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), surface acoustic wave (SAW) and bulk acoustic wave (BAW) technologies. The company has ISO9001-certified manufacturing facilities in the U.S., production in Costa Rica, and design centers in North America and Germany. For more information, visit www.triquint.com.

TriQuint: Connecting the Digital World to the Global Network^®